The Social Network: October 1
This is already well known as “the facebook movie;” having David Fincher (Fight Club) on board as director makes an inane premise promising.
Let Me In: October 1
The U.S. re-make of Let the Right One In is the film nerd battle of the week, and the consternation is well justified: The Swedish original was fantastic, mixing equal amounts of drama, horror, and atmosphere. Given what we’ve seen in the trailer, Let Me In looks to even be matching the original’s lighting and shot composition. As the folks at the /Filmcast have pointed out, if the re-make doesn’t add anything and just changes the language to English, what’s the f*cking point? We’ll see if Matt Reeves (directing) and Chloe Moretz can justify the film.
It’s Kind of a Funny Story: October 8 (limited)
Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck directed one of my favorite films from the 2000’s, Half Nelson. It’s Kind of a Funny Story is their latest work and stars the popular comic Zach Galifianakis. Early reviews mention the film’s commercial nature, in sharp contrast to the quality storytelling skills from previous works, but it could still be worth a look. Hopefully it will do more than just be another quirky charming comedy (see Juno, Little Miss Sunshine, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, etc.).
Stone: October 8
De Niro. Norton. Who will win? That’s the setup, with Norton as convicted arsonist Stone, who attempts to manipulate parole officer Jack (De Niro) into setting him free. I’m not one for thrillers (the trailers always make them look ridiculously over dramatic), but Norton has yet to disappoint me.
Conviction: October 15 (limited)
Oscar bait. Anytime a film says “based on a true story” you can bet your ass there’s little truth to the film. Stars Hillary Swank as the sister to a wrongfully convicted Sam Rockwell, who decides to become a lawyer to save her brother. One would hope it isn’t as laughably dramatic as the trailer implies.
Hereafter: October 22
Though I know there is a lot of support for Clint Eastwood’s directorial work, there are always moments in his films where the acting is the epitome of bad. However, Hereafter‘s subject matter intrigues me: Matt Damon plays a paranormal psychic who is contacted by different people trying to cope with the death of a loved one.
The Company Men: October 22 (limited)
With a film that stars Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Kevin Costner, and Ben Affleck (before you snicker, have you seen The Town?), why wouldn’t I want to see it? Looks to be following the social relevance of last year’s Up In the Air as three men grapple with being fired.
Monsters: October 29 (limited)
I’ve been campaigning for this film ever since I saw it in June at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. You can read my review here, but in short, it’s great drama with powerful sci-fi textures offering supporting roles. You have to see this.
[the current trailers reveal too much and do not do a good job of capturing the film’s essence]
The Filmsmith 
10.01.10 Fri. 11:35 am PST
Dear Remington:
(Note: I have not yet viewed any of these films.)
Several first impressions regarding “The Company Men,” “Conviction,” and “Hereafter.”
On “Company Men:” First, I have a very positive bias towards T. L. Jones.
Second, I have the same bias towards Chris Cooper, who I strongly believe may very well be extremely under-rated. Am certain that Cooper has fulfilled strong performances as the ‘Male Supporting Actor’/’Male Character Actor’ roles.
On “Conviction,” this reminds me of the film with Clint Eastwood where the premise was where an African-American character is on Death Row, and C. Eastwood’s character (a journalist) strongly believes that above Af-Amer. is “innocent.” Eastwood’s character works at preventing death sentence to actually be carried out upon the Af. Amer. Male. (Do not recall its name–Excuse the vague reference).
Also, “Conviction” seems somewhat reminescent of “Dead Man Walking,” (S. Penn/S. Sarandon
On “Hereafter,” this reminds me of a quasi-“Signs” premise. Of course, Damon’s character is not a Psychiatrist. But, his *alleged ability as a Psychic does at least fall into purview of “ParaPsychology. Also, Willis’s character didn’t interact with remaining relatives/friends/significant others of the recently deceased.
The above are merely my first-time first impressions.
Remington, have you yet viewed the US version of “Let the Right One In”?
Just curious.
Thank you for the review, Remington
Dale/(DJS) .
* While I do believe in the possibility of Empathic/Psychic abilities, I do not believe that all people claiming to be psychics/empaths possess these very special, unique abilities. For example, former TV “Psychic,” called “Miss Cleo:” First, she did a very poor fake Caribbean accent. Second, if she was so Psychic, why didn’t she call the people whom needed her, instead of needing other people to call her??!! This was about money–I think a true empath/psychic would not “prostitute” their abilities for “filthy lucre.”
Best Regards!
Error Distinction: Remington, in my previous comments, I referred to “….quasi-Signs….” I made an error here. I meant to say “….quasi-“Sixth Sense.” Please excuse this M. Night Shamaylan “crossover” glitch!! (10.01.10 Fri. 12:02 pm PST)
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